


The Viper's Nest

by screwsimplicity



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1604438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screwsimplicity/pseuds/screwsimplicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt and Sebastian meet again in New York City at an audition and even though Blaine's out of the picture now, they still hate each other as much as they did a year ago. But now they have to put on their game faces as they audition for the same part in "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead." But what happens when they get cast as each other's romantic interest instead?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning(s): Sex, drugs, alcohol, pyromania, slut-shaming, homophobia, bullying, rape/sexual abuse and suicide are all involved/mentioned in the PLAY and might be touched on in the fic later on, but I'll let you know when.
> 
> A/N: Hey, guys! I suddenly got this newfound inspiration to start this fic up again, since I haven't updated in almost a year now. So, I'm going to be putting up the chapters I already have up here, but nothing is really going to change if you've already read it before except maybe the time frame. It is the end of 2014 and everything that has happened in Season Five is basically the same, except Kurt and Blaine have broken off their engagement, Funny Girl has closed on Broadway, and Rachel never got that reality TV show centered around with that, I am obliged to say that I do not own Dog Sees God or Glee or any of that. All credits go to Bert V. Royal and Ryan Murphy. Happy Reading!

Kurt didn't expect to fall in love with the play.

But, then again, he didn't expect to be dragged out of bed on a Sunday morning to go script hunting with Rachel. He didn't know he was going to find a worn little script with an ugly red cover in a stack of classic Shakespeare plays with a weird title that just begged you to open it up and see what it was about. Kurt didn't exactly anticipate buying a script for a show about the Peanuts characters as teenagers that day. And he most certainly didn't expect to go home and cry over it once he was done reading it.

Though, he did expect the obsession that came after it. When Kurt loved something, he  _loved_  it. He spent a hours watching videos of other people performing scenes from it, seeing how they decided to portray certain parts, and to give himself an image in his head before he read it again… and again.

He read it until he had practically memorized it, trying to analyze every bit of subtext. It was what great actors did, wasn't it? They spent their careers figuring out everything they could about their characters, and even though Kurt wasn't even in the play, there was one character he wanted to play above all others: Beethoven. Originally named Schroder in the Peanuts comics and movies, Beethoven was the bullied gay kid, which Kurt could definitely connect with.

The play actually helped him whenever he was assigned to do an in-depth analysis on a play. It was easier for him to pick up on things in the text because of what he had done with  _Dog Sees God_  than some of the other students in his classes at NYADA.

But it was only a phase. After a while, he forgot all about the play and went on with his life, finding interest in other things and getting new experiences. It wasn't until Rachel came bursting through the door of their apartment one afternoon with "exciting news" and a flyer for an upcoming audition for the show at a nearby theater when he remembered how much he wanted to be in it.

And that's what landed the duo in the small theater that cold evening in November, with a surprisingly large amount of people. Kurt didn't really expect this many people to show up. It wasn't a particularly popular show, but then again, it didn't matter if these people were fans. It was a job. It was something to fill their free time. It put food on the table for some of these people, and he totally understood. He was just doing it for fun, because he already had a job to put food on the table, and college to make it a little harder for his parents to put food on their table.

Kurt had dragged Rachel along with him to the audition, knowing how she hadn't really been doing anything after the revival of  _Funny Girl_  had closed after only eight months of performances and her reality TV show fell through. She even tried re-auditioning for NYADA, but didn't get in, so she didn't have anything to do but mope around their apartment all day. He thought it might give her a confidence boost and get her to actually do stuff so she could pay her part of the rent. But now that they were here, he was regretting it.

As soon as he and Rachel got out of the line to give the stage manager their headshots and resumes and received the sides to read over, they moved to a side of the lobby that was empty, feeling a bit claustrophobic from being swallowed be a mob of actors as soon as they walked through the door.

Kurt leaned against the wall with a sigh, taking advantage of the rare silence from his roommate to finally drink his coffee without the fear of someone knocking into him and spilling it all over his outfit. But as soon as he got a little taste of the non-fat mocha, Rachel started talking his ears off about things that she wouldn't have dared to say with the stage manager twenty feet away. He tried to block her out as he nursed his coffee, glancing at the sides he got.

"There aren't any parts in this show that can showcase my talents properly!" Rachel complained, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I mean, the parts for women aren't very big! And even though I would obviously be perfect for  _all_ of them, it's kind of disappointing, don't you think?" she asked, looking at Kurt who was looking into space, sipping at the remnants of his drink. "Are you even listening?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip, a clear sign that she was irritated. Kurt blinked, looking up at her with a dumbstruck expression on his face. "You weren't listening!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up again. Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her dramatics for what was probably the millionth time throughout the course of their friendship.

"Sorry, Rach. I'm just… tired." he lied, offering her a shrug as he went to go throw his coffee cup away. Rachel followed behind him, glancing at her own sides.

"Would you mind reading through some of these with me?" she asked, throwing he own cup away, her attitude changing drastically as she gave him a sweet smile. Kurt let himself roll his eyes this time, taking her papers to see what scenes they were.

"Sure," he agreed, walking with her back to their spot in the corner of the lobby that seemed to be getting smaller and smaller as more people came in for the auditions. He tore his eyes from everyone, feeling nervousness build up inside of him, and looked back at Rachel, taking a side from her.

They spent a good amount of their time running lines with each other; Kurt trying more or less to ignore the fact about how much _competition_  there was, and how he probably didn't even have a chance of getting the part he wanted. He didn't have a large resume, or a lot of experience, and he caught glances of guys that were probably raised in show business and looked the part of Beethoven better.

Sure, he could pull off the whole 'gay' look, but maybe that wasn't what the director was looking for. He had no idea. But he decided not to dwell on it as he practiced with Rachel. After a while, they even attracted the attention of some other actors, and they all recited their lines together.

In his mind, Kurt was casting everyone around him. In the little group he had joined, there were a couple of people that he would have cast on the spot. There was the modern day Shaggy from Scooby Doo, who would be Van or Linus, the pothead. Then there was a girl wearing only items from Forever 21 with big, thick-rimmed glasses named Bonnie who seemed terribly outspoken by this girl she hung around with that boasted about how great she was the whole time. He never caught that girl's name, but she reminded him of Rachel, though he would never admit it out loud.

Kurt was having a pretty good time talking to them about the play, almost forgetting about all of the guys auditioning for the same part as him. That is, until someone he thought he had gotten rid of a long time ago strode through the door.

Sebastian Smythe.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next chapter's going to have what you're all waiting for; the Kurtbastian auditions including the kissing scene! Actually, there are two kissing scenes but you only get one. Sorry, lovelies! Gotta give some other actors the chance to smooch Kurtsie. Once again, I don't own Dog Sees God or Glee. All characters or dialogue from the script belong to Bert V. Royal and Ryan Murphy. Happy Reading!

There was no way.

There was no  _fucking_ way that this was happening.

He blinked as Sebastian made his way through the crowd, looking like he owned the place. He watched from the corner of his eye as the boy, much to his dismay, put his headshot and resume in front of the stage manager, shooting her a charming smile.

Kurt watched as the stage manager giggled over something Sebastian said before he shot her a wink and took his sides. Kurt's face turned even whiter as he started walking towards their group, averting his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, noticing her friend's distress, when her eyes landed on Sebastian. "Oh." she murmured, a scowl forming on her face.

Suddenly, he felt a hand clap on his back, making him jump a little. "Well, would you look here? It's Failure Bryce and Caspar the Bitchy Ghost."

The comment made Rachel huff, crossing her arms over her chest defensively, though looking like she might cry, while Kurt heaved a sigh. He turned around to look at him, met with the same infuriating smirk that plagued him and Blaine's coffee dates back in Lima.

"And if it isn't the smirky meerkat himself," he replied, shooting him the fakest smile he could muster. "I would say it's nice to see you again, but it's really not." Kurt quipped, wrinkling his nose in distaste The other people in their group looked around awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable in the situation, which Sebastian seemed to notice.

"Where are my manners?" Sebastian asked, taking his hand off of Kurt to acknowledge the others, making Kurt visibly relax.

"Non-existent," Kurt muttered under his breath, making Rachel muffle her snicker with her hand. Sebastian shot him a look, but didn't seem offended. He seemed… amused.

"I'm Sebastian Smythe. Pleasure, I'm sure." he said, making a few of the girls giggle and roll their eyes.

"Like the crab?" Shaggy asked, looking the most amused out of everyone. And also a bit confused. "Is your sister named like… Ariel, or something?" he asked with a snort, causing Sebastian to roll his eyes this time.

"Wow, I haven't  _heard_ that one before. You might want to stop having Weedies for breakfast. The pothead look doesn't look good on you," he said, watching in delight at the horror broke out on Shaggy's face. Everyone else looked at each other, growing more uncomfortable and a bit irritated.

"So… uh, what part are you auditioning for?" Bonnie asked in a small voice, offering him a shy smile. Sebastian shrugged, picking at his fingernails, looking pretty uninterested.

"Beethoven, I guess." he replied.

Kurt's stomach plummeted. Of course he was auditioning for the same part as him.  _Of course._  He prayed to whatever deity that probably wasn't up there that Sebastian was a horrible actor and that the director was straighter than a pole with a wife and kids and wouldn't be swayed by Sebastian's charms.

"Really? Kurt's auditioning for Beethoven too!" Shaggy pointed out, shaking Kurt from his thoughts. He was just contemplating how he could strangle the guy without anyone noticing when Sebastian looked back at him with piercing green eyes.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked, his smirk still intact. Kurt was just about to respond when the stage manager spoke up, telling everyone to be quiet. Beside her was who he assumed was the director, holding a few resumes in his hands.

"Hey, everyone. I'd like to thank you all for showing up today. It was a bigger turnout than we expected, which is awesome!" he said with a grin, making a few people cheer.

"Now, here's how this is gonna go. Shannon here is gonna call your names and you're gonna get a number. That is the order in which you're gonna go. Everyone will get a chance to read at least once and I will tell you if I want to keep you around to read again. All you have to do is listen for your number and do what she says," he motioned to Shannon, who gave a little curtsey before turning back to the crowd. "Thank, guys."

And with that, he went into a room with the resumes, and the Shannon picked up her clip board, shutting everyone up again as she read through the names. It didn't take as long as he expected it to take to call out everyone's names. There were only around forty people, even though it felt like a hundred. But it made Kurt feel better that there weren't as many people to compete for the role against than he thought.

He frowned when he was one of the last numbers along with Sebastian, not wanting to have to stay in the same room as him for however long it would take to get to their numbers. Shannon called the first eight to wait in a line with only the monologues that they got, to make the first elimination process go faster. Somewhere in there, Sebastian had wandered away from their group, and found another one to inevitably bother.

_Good riddens._  Kurt thought, holding onto a hope that they wouldn't talk to each other again throughout the audition process.

He spent his time going over the Beethoven monologue he had been given. It had been a while since he had read through the script, but he still knew this one by heart, which was good.

It really hit close to home when he thought about it. The whole character did. They were both bullied for being gay in a school where none of the teachers really cared. Beethoven even mentioned saying that they tried to help, but inside they didn't really care about the student's mental wellbeing and that all counselors used the same line when dealing with him. Even though some things were worse for Beethoven than Kurt, he still really connected with him. He didn't exactly ever feel the pain of having his hands smashed into a piano, but he could imagine how horrible it must have felt and how it felt to have his dreams crash down around him. He had experienced that the day he got his rejection letter from NYADA, remembering how he thought that life was ruined and that he was worthless and that he would never fulfill his dreams.

He really hoped that the director would understand that.

Kurt watched as people trickled in and out of the room, some walking out of the building and some staying. He felt less, yet more nervous when he noticed that there were more people leaving than staying.

He also watched Sebastian for a little while. He watched as he read a scene over with a girl that looked like a sixteen year old, trying to figure out if he was doing the one with an institutionalized pyromaniac Lucy or a Wiccan Sally, hoping now he had gotten scenes for CB or Charlie Brown instead of scenes for Beethoven. The actress wasn't doing a very good job at making distinctions between the two, mostly just gawking at Sebastian or giggling at something charming he said.

The sight kind of made him want to throw something for some reason.

One time Sebastian caught him staring and merely flashed him a wink, making him blush against his will. He decided later that he was flustered only because he got caught staring for no reason.

Rachel's number was called after about thirty minutes, which sucked because her number was closer to the beginning. He groaned as he thought about how long this might take if the director wanted to keep him there. He might be there for hours. But he would do it if that were what it took. It was just the thought of possibly having to stay around Sebastian for more time than necessary that made him upset.

Rachel was very excited when she came out of the audition room, immediately finding Kurt to tell him how the director told her what a strong actress she was and that he wanted to put her somewhere. This was another time where Kurt had to restrain from rolling his eyes because  _of course_  that would happen to Rachel Berry. It always did; in Glee club, in her second NYADA 'audition', in the damned school itself, everything with  _Funny Girl_ , and everywhere else. And though he still loved her to death, he wanted the spotlight too.

She continued to fill him in on the director and the assistant director and what their reactions were, but he started to tune her out when the conversation turned into how great she was. It was then when he was the one who caught Sebastian looking at him. Sebastian stole a glance at Rachel, who was talking animatedly and back to Kurt, smirking at his obvious distress before turning back to the guy he was talking to, or for all he knew, was hitting on.

Kurt was soon pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his number called to stand in line. He quickly escaped Rachel after grabbing his monologue from the stack he had made on the floor beside him, and waited for Shannon to tell him where to stand. He was the last person in line until Sebastian strode up beside him, leaning against the wall.

They stood in amicable silence for a little while, until Kurt couldn't take it anymore and spoke up.

"Why are you even  _here_?" he asked: a question that had been on his mind since Sebastian walked through the door. The other boy raised an eyebrow at him, motioning to the paper in his hand.

"Auditioning. Obviously. I thought that your pea-sized brain would have been able to figure that out already," he said, plastering that stupid smirk back on his face.

"No, I… I  _know_  you're auditioning. But why?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate to know. Last he had heard from Blaine was that Sebastian was still wreaking havoc in Ohio. But then again, he told him that when they were still wearing matching rings. Things changed.

He still never expected to run into Sebastian Smythe of all people in a huge city like New York.

"It's a job," he said, with a shrug echoing Kurt's thoughts from earlier. "Plus, it's actually a really interesting show. I had to read it for class," he added with another nonchalant shrug.

"It is," Kurt agreed quietly, trying not to sound too excited. Everyone else he had talked to hadn't read or heard of the show before. "Where do you go to school?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested but still polite enough to initiate small talk.

"NYU. Or more specifically… Tisch," he stated, tilting his head a little to show that he was superior. "You? Last I heard you didn't get accepted into that NYADA school," he inquired, saying the name of the school like it was gum on the bottom of his shoe and not one of the best performing arts universities in the nation.

"I got a second chance, and got in." he replied, feeling pride bloom in his chest. Anyone that was in show business knew that it was very rare to get a second chance, so whenever he told someone, they were pretty impressed. Sebastian, however, wasn't impressed in the slightest.

"I bet they're regretting that decision now." he quipped, looking at his fingernails like they were the most interesting things in the room. Kurt opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it, deciding that this wasn't the best time or place to get in a bitch-off. "Speechless?" Sebastian asked, "Yeah… I tend to have that affect on people." Kurt snorted, and rolled his eyes. How was it even possible to be that cocky?

"Maybe when you're shoving your dick into their mouth," he retorted, adding a little bite to his tone. He didn't tell himself that he couldn't be snarky.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Princess." Sebastian replied, and as if on cue, the guy that he was talking to earlier came out of the audition room and Sebastian slapped his ass as he walked by, making Kurt pretend to gag.

"Do what you want, Sebastian, but  _please_  don't shove it in my face," he practically begged, "or my mouth." he added.

"Gladly." he replied with a nod, signaling the end of the conversation.

They continued to stand in silence, waiting for their turn to go in and audition. Kurt read over his monologue a couple of times in his head, unaware of how he was mouthing the words while he was reading and how Sebastian was staring at his mouth as he did it.

Once Kurt glanced back at him, he quickly averted his eyes, and kept them glued on his own paper, which he noticed didn't have the Beethoven monologue on it, but he didn't take the time to look at it more fully to see which characters it was. The next thing he knew, the girl in front of him came out and it was his turn to go in. He took a deep breath before stepping inside.

The room was bigger than he expected it to be. He wondered what exactly they used it for. He doubted it wasn't just for auditions, since it was such a big space. Kurt walked over to the center of the room that was marked by neon pink gaff tape, and stood facing the two connected tables where the director and who he assumed was the assistant director were sitting. He gave them a smile, which they both returned once they had looked up from where they were staring down at his resume and headshot.

"Slate please," the director said in a monotonous voice, like he had said it way too many times in his career.

"I'm Kurt Hummel, I'm twenty years old, and I'll be auditioning for the role of Beethoven." he stated. The director nodded and they both opened to a new page in their notepads to write notes on his performance.

Kurt took a deep breath, only glancing down at his paper once before looking up at that imaginary person right above the director's head, pretending it was CB, who had just confessed everything he was feeling about his beloved dog being dead. He tried to imagine just how pissed off he would be if that happened while he was busy doing something. He remembered back to a time when Blaine would practically suffocate, and it almost made him want to cry, but scream at the same time.

"Well, it's just that you haven't spoken to me in years. Except to call me a 'faggot' or to dislocate my shoulder and all of a sudden I get a stream-of-consciousness monologue about your dead dog while I'm trying to spend the only moments of my day that don't truly  _suck_ ," He felt himself get a little angry at that point, tried to calm himself down. This part made the director look up at him and stop scribbling down notes, no doubt about his appearance, and actually look interested in what was going on.

"And, you see, there's some missing component to this conversation, other than an attentive listener. A segue, I suppose?" Beat. "Forgive my bluntness. Please don't hit me." Kurt added the last line quickly, knowing how Beethoven must have felt when he was afraid that anyone that was going to approach him wanted to hurt him. "But I could give two shits about you or your vacant mind or your morbid curiosities or your dead fucking dog, so why don't you just leave?" He threw his hands in the air, still holding the piece of paper with the monologue on it.

The room was silent for a little while after that as both of the directors stared at him for a second, while nerves built up inside of Kurt. There wasn't any more to the monologue, so he wasn't sure what they were expecting him to say or do. Beethoven's monologues were usually short and to the point, and they must have known that he was done so he wasn't sure why they were just staring at him like that. After a moment, they started scribbling down more notes, and whispering to each other before looking back up at Kurt with smiles.

"Great job, Kurt. We'd like to keep you around to do a couple more scenes for Beethoven, if that's okay," Kurt didn't even have to think before he nodded eagerly, biting his lip to contain his grin.

"So just tell Shannon that, and she'll give you the scenes you'll need," he said, as Kurt nodded again. "Will you let the next person in?" he asked, and of course, Kurt nodded, not able to say much else because they were actually _interested_  in him. "Thanks." Kurt walked out of the room with a little skip in his step, as he motioned for Sebastian to come inside.

"Took you long enough," Sebastian muttered as he brushed past him to go inside, closing the door behind him. Kurt just ignored the comment as he made his way over to Rachel, finally letting a grin spread from ear-to-ear.

"Kurt!" she exclaimed, meeting him in the middle. "Did they like you? Are you staying?" she asked, though she already knew by the look on his face. Before he could even open his mouth to reply she was squealing and jumping up and down excitedly. After the squeals of excitement died down, he walked over to the stage manager, just as Sebastian walked out.

"Let me guess. Beethoven, right?" she asked, shooting him an oddly familiar smirk.

"Yep." he replied, giving her a quick once-over, trying to figure out where she may have seen her before.

She looked like she was in her late-twenties, but was still very beautiful. He wondered why she wasn't the lead of some hit Broadway musical or walking the runways in Milan by now. She wore her long dirty blonde hair in a messy bun on top of her head, wearing a plain jeans-and-a-t-shirt combo with torn up sneakers. Shannon glanced up at him from under her thick-rimmed glasses with piercing green eyes, before darting them back to the stacks of papers on the small table.

As soon as Sebastian walked up to the table, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

She went through her stack of papers, naming each scene as she gave them to him.

"'The Viper's Nest', 'Nocturne', 'Mal Di Luna'… basically all of the CB and Beethoven scenes… and well, just look over 'Dear CB'. Not everyone's going to be in that one," she said, handing them all to him. "That's it. Now, what will happen is I'll call the –"

"CB and Matt." Sebastian interrupted, jumping up on her table to sit on it, almost making her coffee cup fall over. Shannon scrambled to grab the cup before it fell and rolled her eyes at Sebastian almost… fondly. "Cool your jets, baby brother. You'll get your turn." Kurt blanched. Of course they were related.

And now Sebastian had an even bigger chance of getting in and he swore if he got in and he had to be in it with Sebastian… well, let's just say that someone's balls would get cut off by the end of the show. Sebastian looked over at him and smirked that infuriating smirk.

"I didn't even know that it was possibly to turn that white, Caspar." he quipped, but Kurt ignored him as he looked between them, trying to find each and every similarity and difference between them.

"Sorry for that," she said as she looked back at him with a sweet smile. "Ignore him. He's always like this."

"Oh, I know." Kurt muttered, making Sebastian chuckle. Now it was Shannon's turn to look between them, dumbstruck.

"You two know each other?" she asked.

"Unfortunately." Kurt replied, rolling his eyes. Shannon looked between them again, her jaw falling open.

"Awkwaaard." she sing-songed, before turning back to Kurt, regaining her composure. "Alright, so once the director makes his list of people he wants to see do scenes together and gives it to me, I'll call your numbers and you'll wait in line, just like last time. Okay?" Kurt nodded again and went off to find Rachel to tell her about his latest discovery.

Rachel didn't seem as shocked as he thought she would be. She told him that lots of people auditioned for shows with people they knew with high statuses in the show to better their chances of getting in. That little bit of common knowledge didn't make him feel any better.

It wasn't too long after that that the director, who he learned was named Max Armand and was referred as brilliant on several occasions, came out with a list and handed it to Shannon. Everyone in the room already knew now that they needed to be quiet even before she started shushing them.

"Okay, guys. First up is #7, Rachel Berry, and #22, Samantha Eugene, with 'Spork'. Rachel as Marcy and Samantha as Tricia."

Rachel grinned as she shoved the rest of her sides into Kurt's hands as she made her way up to the front of the line next to a rather tall blonde wearing what could only be described as stripper heels, towering over Rachel.

Kurt couldn't help but laugh as he took in the height difference, muffling his laughter behind his hand as she stood up straighter in an attempt to look taller. Shannon kept reading out the numbers of people and their scenes, calling a few people more than once. He looked around and noticed how there was a significantly smaller amount of people now than there was an hour and a half ago. Then he realized that at least half of the people in the room were going to be cast.

"Sebastian Smythe and Kurt Hummel with 'The Viper's Nest'. You boys know who you are." she said, flashing a wink in his general direction. It was then when he noticed that somewhere in there, Sebastian had moved to stand next to him, making him jump a little.

Kurt got put in two scenes with another guy to play CB, but, much to his dismay, got paired up with Sebastian for two more.

"Now, Max gave everyone a chance to do four scenes each, but he decided to make it even… or odd, I guess and give you all five. So, once all of the other scenes are done, he's going to narrow it down to two people he is considering to cast for each role." The statement made people start whispering to each other, getting more anxious by the minute.

"But since this isn't a perfect world, and there are eighteen of you left instead of sixteen, two of you are not going to be in the final scene. And yes, this means that you will not be cast. Sorry. This isn't the time where if you don't get a callback, it doesn't mean you're not in the show. You're not. Now, Max is still deciding whether or not he'll need understudies for every part or not, so we'll most certainly be in touch with most of you if not all of you. So, we will make sure you'll be involved." Again, more whispering commenced. Shannon cleared her throat to get everyone to be quiet before she continued.

"So, once he has decided the two people for each part, he will split you into two groups to do 'Dear CB'. And if you haven't already guessed, Max is very indecisive, so he might need to switch people around in the groups, so cancel any dinner reservations you have now, just in case," she said, making everyone chuckle. "But seriously, guys, he wants this cast to be perfect so he will make as many adjustments as he needs to so he can cast tonight. He needs to see his final cast before the cast list goes up. So, for most of you, you all have a fifty percent chance of getting in. And with that, break a leg!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): Suggestions of sexual harassment/rape by a parent
> 
> A/N: It's what you've all been waiting for... I would have loved to write one of the other scenes Kurt and Sebastian are in together, but this got lengthy really fast. So expect all of that in the next chapter. Once again, I don't own Dog Sees God or Glee. All characters or dialogue from the script belong to Bert V. Royal and Ryan Murphy. Happy Reading!

Kurt really didn't want to have to do this.

He did not want to do the romantic Beethoven and CB scenes with Sebastian Smythe. And he didn't want Sebastian to have a fifty percent chance of getting in the show if Kurt had the same chance of getting in. It had been years since their run-ins at the Lima Bean, but there was something in him that broke when he saw him again, and he couldn't stand the sight of him.

"Alright, Hummel. Are we gonna rehearse this or what?" Sebastian asked, pulling Kurt from his thoughts of how much effort it would take to ship Sebastian off to Uganda.

"Guess we might as well," Kurt replied, sighing as he sifted through his papers to grab the scene that they were doing first: the one where CB invades Beethoven's private practice time during lunch to tell him about his dead dog.

They went through the scene as quickly as possible to get a feel of it, not looking up from their papers to interact with each other the whole time. Rachel and her partner were just coming out of the room when they were done with their first scene, so with the least amount of eye-contact as possible, they agreed to read through it a few more times before they were called in.

After the third time around, there were still three pairs of actors in front of them, so they split up, and Kurt went and met his other CB; a very attractive blonde named Victor that Kurt remembered as the guy Sebastian was flirting with before.

They made their way through their two scenes a few times with no problem, and Kurt found that it was easier to act off of Victor than Sebastian. So he held on to a little bit of hope that if he got cast, Victor would be his CB. He wouldn't mind kissing him one bit. Speaking of kissing...

"Hey, you know what I think would really wow the director?" Kurt asked, biting his lip to contain a smile.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at him, leaning a bit closer.

"We should really kiss at the end. I don't think anyone else here is doing it, and it will give him a chance to show him how flexible we can be, and how easy it will be for us to trust each other enough to do it every night," he explained, crossing his fingers behind his back. "If... if you're comfortable with that, of course." he added quickly, just in case. If he was straight, which he seriously doubted (his hair totally gave it away) then it might be awkward for him, which he didn't want to risk.

To his relief, Victor nodded in agreement.

"That's fine. I can do that," he assured, puffing his chest out just slightly. "How about we practice now?" he asked, ducking his head shyly even though he could tell that he wasn't shy about it at all. Flirty bastard.

"Sure." Kurt squeaked out. Before they knew it, they were leaning in, slowly moving closer and closer... so  _close_ -

"Kurtbastian, get in line!"

Kurt heaved a sigh and pulled away from Victor, giving him an apologetic smile before going over to stand in line once again. He wondered if it was in the Smythe family genes to be a cockblock, or if they both were just naturals at being annoying and wrecking intimate moments.

"'Kurtbastian', really? Why does his name have to go first?" Sebastian whined playfully as he made his way up to his sister.

"Because 'Sebkurt' sounds stupid." Shannon retorted with a shrug.

"Well, 'Kurtbastian' does too," Sebastian replied, leaning against the table. "Admit it." Shannon heaved a sigh, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine. They both sound stupid. Now get in line." she said, nodding towards where Kurt was standing and trying to ignore the conversation about their couple name. Sebastian walked over without any argument, standing closer to Kurt than he would have liked.

"I know that you don't have a sense of personal space, but I do. So if you'll kindly just move, that'd be great." Kurt said, not even looking up from his paper. Sebastian merely chuckled in response, inching away only a little bit so that he was still in Kurt's personal space bubble. Kurt didn't say anything about it, he just stood as still as possible so he wouldn't have to touch the other boy, reading over the scene.

A few more people were called as they joined the line behind them, while they took the place of the people in front of them as they went in. The closer they got to the audition room, the butterflies flying around in his stomach multiplied. Kurt didn't notice until they moved to the front of the line that Sebastian had took his hand and was squeezing it tightly.

If the whole hand holding thing didn't catch him off guard, Sebastian's face certainly did. He looked a lot more nervous than Kurt probably did. He was paler than usual, constantly nibbling his lip, and his palms were notably sweaty. It was kind of off-putting that the all-confident Sebastian Smythe was nervous about an audition.

Sebastian looked down at him when he noticed him staring, and then his gaze fell to their connected hands. He pulled his away quickly, wiping his hand on his jeans, murmuring a "sorry."

"S'okay." Kurt murmured back, wiping his own hand on his pants without thinking.

Before they knew it, the pair before them was coming out, telling them both to "break a leg" before walking back into the lobby. Kurt swallowed thickly before looking back at Sebastian to see if he was ready to go in. Sebastian gave him a nod, before motioning for Kurt to go in before him. He slowly walked back into the room, clutching his paper tightly in his hand. The room was a bit smaller now that they moved a few chairs, a table, and a small electronic piano off to the side.

"Hey, guys," Max greeted with that infectious smile on his face, making both boys calm down just a little and smile back at him. "Now, Kurt, I noticed that on your resume it says that you can sight read. Is that correct?" Kurt nodded, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. "Well, now, you don't have to, but we'd like you to play a little bit during the scene when it says to, if that's not a problem for you, of course."

"No! That's fine. I can do that," he said, smiling softly at him. Max smiled back as the assistant director scribbled something down.

"Great. Just, set up whatever you need, and start whenever you feel ready. Okay, guys?" he said, causing them to nod politely and start setting everything up. Kurt pulled the piano to the middle, making sure it didn't unplug itself, while Sebastian put a chair behind it, and one beside it for him to sit. Once they got situated, Sebastian and Kurt stood next to each other in front of the table and slated.

Once they were finished, Kurt sat down at the piano, while Sebastian moved off to the side so he could walk in and start the scene. Kurt put his script on the music stand in front of him beside the sheet music for Chopin's "Prelude #4 in E Minor Op. 28/4" for him to play at the beginning and "Heart and Soul" to play at the end.

Kurt put his fingers on the keys, glanced up at the music, and started to play. Sebastian walked on and stood to the side, directing the monologue to his audience as he pretended to continue writing a letter to his penpal.

"I heard a song. The song was simple. Much more simple than what he usually played. I was passing by the music room when I heard it," he got silent, listening to the music. "I don't know if Fredric Chopin had a dog, but maybe he did? And maybe he wrote that song because his dog died, too," he thought about it for a moment, before shrugging. "I don't know… Maybe." he murmured, pretending to walk into the music room, getting lost in the song.

Kurt pretended not to know Sebastian was there as he got lost in playing the song, until he heard Sebastian start sniffling, and let out a fake, yet still convincing sob. Kurt quickly turned around to find the source of the noise, tensing up when he saw Sebastian, who tried to pull himself together.

"You're not supposed to be in here. I have permission to practice during lunch. But nobody else is supposed to be in here." he said quickly, throwing his defenses up out of habit, like Beethoven would have done when he saw someone who bullied him, not quite meeting his eye. Sebastian wiped his eyes quickly with the back of his hand.

"You've gotten really good. I mean, you always were, but — who wrote that? Beethoven?" he asked.

"Chopin." Kurt replied, looking back at the keys on the piano, wringing his hands in his lap.

"Do you mind if I just listen for a little while?" Sebastian asked, looking sheepish. Kurt sucked his bottom lip in his mouth and nodded, turning back to the piano to resume playing.

"God. This is really embarrassing," Sebastian paused, taking the seat next to him, not looking up at him as he quietly played. "My dog died. He got rabies. They, um, had to put him under." he looked up then, waiting for any kind of reaction from Kurt, but he didn't get one. Kurt just kept playing, chewing on his lip every now and then as Sebastian continued with his monologue about his dead dog.

"I looked up rabies on the internet. It's an acute viral infection. It's transmitted through infected saliva… I guess he must have been bitten by something that had it. Maybe a fox or a raccoon. Bats can have it too." Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Sebastian doing little fidgety things, a little taken aback at how into it he was, and how progressively more upset he got. "It travels from the bite to the spinal cord and the brain. Then the victim gets a really high fever and uncontrollable excitement, then spasms of the throat muscles. That's what causes them to salivate. They can't swallow water. Another word for the infection is 'hydrophobia,' which of course means 'fear of water.' God… can you imagine not being able to swallow? That must suck." he explained, looking back at Kurt for another reaction, who only gave him a slight nod, staring down at the keys.

Kurt felt himself start to get more annoyed as he kept talking, not sure if he was Beethoven being annoyed with a former friend and current bully, or if he was Kurt getting annoying with Sebastian.

"It's weird," he breathed out, running a hand through his hair as he started to ramble. "We had him vaccinated when he was a puppy; guess it doesn't always work," beat. "We had a funeral for him. Well, my sister and me did. I think I was supposed to say something, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I just stood there, frozen, like an idiot," he let out a self-deprecating chuckle at that, tugging gently at the roots of his hair.

"My brain went numb and that's never happened to me before. I mean, there's always something going on up there, right? Even in the subconscious. People meditate to clear their minds. I don't get that. I don't ever want to have a clear mind again," he looked down at his lap, looking down at his hands. "I guess I was thinking by burying him, that I'd have some closure or feel his presence there or something and I didn't and that just freaked me out, so I don't know. I mean, have you ever had someone close to you die and you can't stop thinking about them and w-what's happened to them?" he choked out, tears gathering in both his and Kurt's eyes because that line really hit him.

Kurt started to play louder as Sebastian continued going off about death, feeling an intense emotion bubble up inside of him, thinking of Finn and his mom, and how he had felt that way when they had first died. It was sad to think about, but at the same time he got so mad that, even when he thought he was strong after Finn's death, he was still having those kinds of thoughts. He was supposed to be the strong one in his family, but he wasn't and it sucked.

"It's like you're stuck in this morbid place and there's so much death that you feel like your head is going to explode and it makes you think that you're not even there. That maybe you're dead, too."

With that final line, Kurt smashed his hands down on the keyboard, making a cacophonous chord, breathing heavily. Sebastian whipped his head around to look at him, with actual tears in his eyes that threw Kurt off of a second.

"What?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Well, it's just that you haven't spoken to me in years. Except to call me a 'faggot' or to dislocate my shoulder a-and all of a sudden I get a stream-of-consciousness monologue about your dead dog while I'm trying to spend the only moments of my day that don't truly  _suck,_ " he was about to slam his hands down again, when he stopped himself, trying to calm down as rage boiled low in his gut. "And, you see, there's some missing component to this conversation, other than an attentive listener. A segue, I suppose?" he asked as Sebastian blinked back tears, throwing his own walls back up around him after his moment of vulnerability, which almost threw Kurt off-guard.

"Forgive my bluntness. Please don't hit me. But I could give two shits about you or your vacant mind or your morbid curiosities or your dead fucking dog, so why don't you just leave?" He raised his voice, motioning towards the direction where Sebastian came in. It took a moment for Sebastian to let all of that sink in before he started to defend himself.

"I never dislocated your shoulder!" Kurt scoffed, shaking his head.

"According to my doctor, you did. In shop class last spring, you twisted my arm behind my back and told me that you wouldn't let go until I said that— and I quote — 'I like to get it up the ass.'" Kurt practically spat out, feeling his throat start to tighten up.

"I was just playing around with you," Sebastian said, actually sounding sincere about it on more than one level. Kurt was still a bit butthurt over the whole rock-salt slushie dilemma, so he decided to bring the emotions he felt when Sebastian apologized, telling him it was just meant to ruin his clothes and not to blind his ex-boyfriend.

"That makes me feel a lot better! At least I know it was all in good fun!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Now I remember… through my screaming and the searing pain, I definitely recall hearing laughter. Anyway I can contribute to the fun of the group…" he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"We were just messing with you." Sebastian tried. Kurt kept shaking his head, feeling chest start to ache for some reason.

"Fuck you, CB!" he practically screamed in Sebastian's face, watching as his eyes widened as he stood up, not picking up his paper.

"I'd rather you say 'we beat the shit out of you because we can't stand you' than to say you're just 'messing' with me!" he explained, his voice going up into a higher register than it already was, which was quite a feat. "That implies light teasing or slightly opprobrious behavior. I… I haven't had lunch in the cafeteria in two and a half years for fear of going home with some part of it smeared across my shirt!" he choked out, feeling tears prick in his own eyes. "I haven't been in a bathroom on campus since the time my head got slammed into the wall… I believe you were there." Kurt accused, pointing a finger at him.

"I didn't do that!" he yelled back, shooting out of his own chair and getting defensive.

"Yeah?! Well, you didn't stop it either! And the faculty doesn't care. You know what I'm so sick of hearing?" he asked, not waiting for a reaction before continuing, using an obnoxiously high, too-sweet sounding voice, similar to that of a certain counselor he used to know.

"'They only pick on you because of their own insecurities.'" he scoffed, "The classic guidance counselor line! 'Oh geez, Mrs. Blank, since you put it that way, my head doesn't hurt so much anymore!' And what really kills me is that everybody wonders why kids bring guns to school and shoot you fuckers down." he pointed at Sebastian again, scowling. The silence filled up the room rather quickly as Kurt tried to calm himself down, willing himself not to cry. Not now.

"Maybe you're not the bully, but you stand idly by and watch. In my eyes that makes you even worse. So – Please. Just. Go." he choked out, turning his head so he wouldn't have to look at him. Sebastian stammered, trying to think of something to say,

"Maybe if you didn't act so –" he was cut off by Kurt spinning back around to look at him, pretty sure his whole face was red.

"What? What, CB? How do I act?" he snapped. Sebastian hesitated before answering, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well… Gay." Kurt frowned, glaring at him.

"And how does one act gay?" he asked, sure that he had asked this question way too many times before. "By playing the piano?" he asked when he didn't receive a reply from Sebastian, walking around the piano, sliding his hand over it, before smashing on the keyboard once again. "Oh, it must be all those times I ogle the football team. Maybe I'll stop carrying around a pink purse. Or openly sucking dick in plain view of the entire student body!" Kurt yelled, throwing his hands up yet again, getting fed up.

"What?! What is it?!" he asked desperately, stepping closer so Sebastian could clearly see the tears threatening to spill. Sebastian took a step back as Kurt got closer, trying to act like the better person in the situation, even though they both knew he wasn't'.

"You're being hostile and I'm just trying to talk to you like a civilized –"

"I don't want to talk to you!" Kurt practically screamed, laughing hysterically, pulling at his hair, not even caring that he ruined his perfect quiff. "I just want to be left alone! I don't need social pointers. All I need from you is an apology for the five minutes that you've stolen from my day!"

"See,  _this_  is why you don't have any friends." Sebastian shot back.

"I think we both know why I don't have any friends," Kurt choked out, pursing his lips.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic!"

"You're in here crying about a dead dog and  _I'm_  being melodramatic?!" he asked, letting out an incredulous laugh.

"Just shut the fuck up about my dog, okay?" Sebastian snapped, getting defensive again.

"Or what? You'll hit me? Go ahead," he spat out, walking back around the piano to get up in his face, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

"I'll show you how people get hurt and don't run away to cry like a big fuckin' baby." Kurt said, not hesitating to start shoving him.

He'd had it.

At that point, he and Beethoven were so fucking done.

Done with bullies, done with high school, done with CB.

Done with Sebastian, done with Blaine, done with Rachel, done with the pompous know-it-alls at NYADA, done with cockblocking Shannon… just done with everything.

After a few more shoves and a few hits to the chest with Sebastian even flinching or moving, he started laughing. Like, not fake laughing. Honest-to-god laughing.

"What's so funny, asshole?" he asked, his voice an octave lower, which only fueled Sebastian's laughter.

"I'm sorry. Nothing." Sebastian lied, holding his stomach while trying to calm down.

"I don't see anything to laugh at." Kurt said, his fists still clenched by his sides. Sebastian wiped tears off of the corner of his eyes, his laughter dying down.

"It's just that I was scared of you for, like, a second," he chortled. Kurt couldn't help but join in on the laughter, unclenching his fists. It was stupid of him to think that he could actually stand up for himself, and actually scare a guy like Sebastian… er, CB. Last time he had done something like that, he had ended up in the hospital.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said, wiping his own tears away, sniffling a shook his head.

"No, it's okay. I deserved it," he admitted, looking up at him under his eyelashes. "Promise me you won't bring a gun to school." Sebastian said after a beat, clearing his throat before shoving his hands in his shook his head and shrugged.

"I don't know where to get one," he admitted, in a small voice. Silence settled between them, as they both shuffled around awkwardly before Kurt spoke up, looking up at him with big eyes. "You were one of my best friends. You all were. I just... I don't get it," he said, running a hand through his hair. Sebastian frowned, looking guilty as he shoved his hands further inside his pockets.

"It's no consolation, but – well, can I be honest?" he asked.

"Yeah." Sebastian sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face before replying.

"No one knew what to say to you after your dad got arrested... It was awkward." Kurt swallowed thickly, trying to surpress images of what Beethoven's dad might have done to him.

"It was more awkward for me." he muttered.

"I'm sorry we weren't there for you," Sebastian said, biting his lip. Kurt could practically see guilt clawing away at his insides... for more than one thing, he wasn't sure.

"That means a lot." Kurt replied, offering him a sad smile.

"See, now you're being sarcastic again." Sebastian accused, furrowing his eyebrows. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him, shaking his head.

"No, I wasn't." Sebastian chuckled, running a hand through his hair again, out of habit.

"Oh... well, it's hard to tell with you." Kurt hummed in agreement, chuckling softly, rolling his eyes almost... fondly. But it wasn't because neither Sebastian nor Kurt knew each other very well... and CB and Beethoven weren't as close. Sebastian looked at him for a long moment, smiling softly before extending his hand out towards Kurt.

"Truce?" Kurt stared at his hand curiously, raising an eyebrow as he looked from his hand, back up at Sebastian.

"I wasn't fighting a war... but okay. Truce." he said, before shaking his hand politely. Their hands stayed together for longer than expected, before CB awkwardly pulled his hand away.

"Are you-?" Sebastian began to ask, before Kurt cut him off. They both knew what he was going to ask.

"I... I don't know. I've never had sex, so it would be hard to say at this point." Kurt replied, shrugging a shoulder, glancing back at him.

"But what about-?"

"My dad?" Kurt asked, frowning as he felt his stomach churn. He shook his head, not looking at him as he leaned against the piano. "I don't think that's considered sex," he muttered, staring down at the floor. The room stayed silent for a long time, only the sound of Kurt's breathing could be heard, as he shut his eyes tightly, trying not to think about the situation his character would have been in to cause his father to go to jail.

"Do you remember how my dog used to howl whenever you played the piano?" Sebastian asked gently, breaking the silence as his fingers hovered over the opened his eyes, looking at Sebastian.

"Yeah. I always found it pretty insulting," he said with a broken chuckle. Sebastian chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes.

"He was singing along," he said, pulling his chair over closer to the piano sitting backwards as he rested his chin on the back of the chair, looking up at Kurt. "What do you think happens to pets when they die?" he asked as Kurt sat down, biting his lip. Kurt gave him a sad smile.

"They go to Heaven." he said simply.

"You believe in Heaven?" Sebastian asked, a little shocked.

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "There has to be some reward for having to live through this." he murmured, biting his lip.

Though Kurt wasn't a firm believer in God himself, and that it was easier to believe that you just become worm food when you die, he could see where Beethoven was coming from. It would be nice to be able to believe that he would go to Heaven when he died, where God would be waiting for him at the all-famed pearly gates to tell him that he was proud of him, and that he was still allowed to go in. But he didn't.

"And you think there are animals there? In Heaven?" Sebastian asked, looking hopeful. Kurt sighed, giving him a painfully sad smile.

"'The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, and the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child will put his hand into the viper's nest.'" Kurt recited.

"But... my dog killed a living thing, Beethoven. Wouldn't God be mad?" Sebastian asked, tilting his head to the side innocently. Kurt let out a shaky sigh.

"He was sick, CB. He couldn't help it." he replied, shutting his eyes for a moment. Kurt always thought that Beethoven was referring to both Snoopy and his father at that point, which just made the whole scene that much more emotional. He opened his eyes and looked up at Sebastian, who looked absolutely depressed. Kurt kind of wanted to give him a hug, but he refrained. "You know they say a dog sees God in his master. A cat looks in the mirror," he joked, smiling softly when he got Sebastian to smile. Sebastian shook his head and chuckled, looking up at the ceiling.

"I fucking hate cats."

"Me too." Kurt chuckled. Sebastian stared at him for a long moment and smiled a real, genuine smile, making Kurt's heart stutter in his chest for some reason. Sebastian stood up, and dragged his chair over to set beside Kurt's, motioning for him to move over so he had room. Kurt chuckled and rolled his eyes as he moved, watching as Sebastian looked at the sheet music for "Heart and Soul" and started playing the bass part, shooting a grin in Kurt's direction.

Kurt couldn't help but smile back, searching his face before joining in on the treble part. Sebastian started to hum along with the song as he banged on the notes, obviously not finding this as easy as Kurt did. Sebastian stopped after a while, prompting Kurt to as well. He looked at the older, paler boy for a long moment, his eyes shooting to Kurt's lips.

He felt his heart start to pound erratically in his chest. They didn't talk about actually kissing. Sebastian never told him he was going to kiss him. He hoped that the director would stop the scene there when he noticed how long this was taking, but he didn't.

Suddenly, Sebastian swooped in, and took his face in his hands, crashing their lips together. Kurt squeaked in surprise once their lips met, but soon he found himself kissing back, just for a moment.

The kiss was fleeting, because once Sebastian realized what he did, he pulled away. Soon, he scrambled out of his chair, and stormed out and off to the side, while Kurt was just left to look confused. He wasn't even acting. He was genuinely confused.

The silence filled the room once again as Kurt stole a glance at the table where Max and his assistant director sat. They were pretty much gawking at the two of them. It took them a moment to regain their composure, and Kurt was pretty sure he heard sniffles, as they sifted through papers, and scribbled down notes. Sebastian walked over to him, and held out his hand for him to take. Kurt looked at it for a moment, still a bit dazed before taking it and standing up.

"That was... that was great, guys. Fantastic work." Max praised, grinning at both of them. The assistant director nodded in agreement, chewing on the cap of her pen, her mascara slightly more smudged than it had been before they started.

"Thank you," Kurt and Sebastian said in unison, looking at each other before chuckling and looking away. Max looked between them, and his smile grew when he noticed that they were holding hands again. This time it was Kurt to pull his hand away, kind of feeling weird about the whole hand holding thing now.

"We can't wait to see your next scenes. Tell the next people that they can come in in a few minutes. Wendy here will tell them when to come." he instructed, and the boys both nodded.

"Thanks again," Max said as they grabbed their papers from where they left them, and walked out of the room. Sebastian told the pair behind them to wait before going in as Kurt scurried out, trying to find Rachel to tell her what happened. He stopped him before he could get too far though.

"Jesus, Hummel. Slow down a second, will ya?" he asked, rushing to meet him. "I know you're begging to tell your little girl friend about how much of a good kisser I am, but I want to tell you something." he said, making Kurt stop in his tracks.

"What?" he asked, sure that he was blushing just because of the comment.

"You... you weren't half bad." Sebastian said, offering him a half-smile. Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded, not sure if he was talking about the kiss or the scene.

"You weren't bad either." he said with a shrug, smiling softly, not sure what he was referring to either. Sebastian opened his mouth to say something else, when none other than Victor walked over.

"Hey, guys! How did you do?" he asked, mostly looking at Sebastian as he talked. Kurt noticed Sebastian's real smile fading a little, a fake one taking its place.

"I think we did pretty well." Sebastian replied with a shrug.

"Awesome! Well, now that you've had your turn... I'd like to take Kurtie here back to practice." Victor said, now looking at Kurt to wink at him, making his whole face turn red.

"Go ahead. But we need to meet up to do our 'scene' later." Sebastian did air quotes, before winking at the blonde.

"Sure thing, big boy," Victor replied, looping Kurt's arm with his. "See you later." he said, before pulling Kurt off without another word. Kurt didn't object, but he wasn't too happy with having to be pulled away so soon. He stole a glance back at Sebastian, and he swore he could see him looking back, with that same depressed look on his face as he did earlier.

If he felt a little bit sad for Sebastian at that point, he would never admit to it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): Homophobia, suggestions/mentions of violence, triggering flashbacks
> 
> A/N: I don't own Dog Sees God or Glee. All characters or dialogue from the script belong to Bert V. Royal and Ryan Murphy. Happy Reading!

Kurt's head was still spinning after he and Sebastian's kiss.

It wasn't the kind of top-of-the-world sensation that he felt after kissing Blaine for the first time that fateful day in one of the Dalton common rooms. No, it was more like a what-the-fuck-just-happened-I'm-gonna-puke sort of feeling. Luckily, he was able to keep his lunch down as he went in to do the same scene with Victor only minutes later.

The scene wasn't really... what he expected, to put it lightly.

You would think that someone as attractive as Victor - who probably had both women and men throwing themselves at him constantly, because, to be quite honest, it looked like his face was carved by angels or something - would be a good kisser, right?

Wrong.

It was safe to say that when he walked out of the audition room, he had the other boy's saliva all over his mouth. To be honest, the whole experience reminded him of Nationals 2011 and the infamous T-Rex eating the Jew incident that ensued, causing them to lose horribly. The very thought horrified him deep down to his soul.

Something in him was hoping that the blonde was choosing to attack his mouth as an character choice, but that was highly unlikely since the playwright didn't specifically say that they two had to try to eat each other. The show was pretty messed up, but not  _that_ messed up. He was torn out of his thoughts about what would have happened if the director hadn't cut them off mid-tongue wrestling when Victor started talking.

"You know, you're an awesome kisser." the blonde said, flashing him a wink. Kurt was frozen for a moment, not really sure how to respond. He expected a comment about how well their performance went - it was actually pretty good, despite the kiss - and maybe even a compliment about his own performance. Sebastian, who was, in his eyes, the most horrendously douche-y person he ever had the displeasure of meeting, had done it. So, why couldn't he?

"You too." Kurt lied, offering him a smile, as he blocked out any thoughts of Sebastian that could be considered not-so douche-y. He offered Victor a smile, hoping that he would go away so he could attempt to wash all the dried spit off of his mouth without offending the other boy. The back of his hand or his sleeve were not options.

"I know. I've been told as much." he boasted, puffing his chest out a bit. The face that was a gift from the gods suddenly looked very childlike, and too proud and not very attractive at all. Kurt held back a laugh as he imagined Victor as a kid on the playground, telling the little boys about his escapades with other little girls, impressing everyone. But Kurt wasn't very impressed.

Kurt rolled his eyes at the other boy before turning around to see where Rachel was, when he saw Sebastian standing behind him. His tall figure was hunched over slightly, and he was kneading his hands together, almost nervously. Honestly, he looked quite awkward. Of all the times Kurt had seen him, he had always been composed, so it kind of threw him off to see him looking so out of place.

"Yes, Sebastian? What is it?" he asked, like he was talking to a child, except he probably sounded a little too annoyed. Sebastian didn't reply for a moment, instead he found his eyes on his swollen, spit-covered lips, and in a split second that stupid smirk was back on his own lips.

The same lips that had been on his only a little while ago, and had tasted so nice, and were so,  _so_  fleeting…

"We have to do our next scene." Sebastian replied smoothly, regaining his composure as he brought Kurt back to reality. Kurt furrowed his eyebrows, glancing back over at the line.

"Already? But, there are like, four more in between the one I just did and ours." Kurt said, motioning towards the pairs waiting anxiously for their turn to wow the director with their boundless acting abilities.

"The director wanted to see us early," Sebastian said, shrugging, the awkwardness taking over again. It was starting to make Kurt uncomfortable. "I don't know. That's what Shannon said." he added, nodding his head over at the girl, who looked like she was texting someone something important. She had a small smile on her face, but kept darting her eyes up to make sure that no one was watching her.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with," Kurt said, letting out a heavy sigh before turning back to Victor. "I'll see you later, Victor." he said, not really promising anything. The blonde boy just gave him a nod and a wink, before stalking over to a group of girls that had been ogling him since they walked out of the audition room.

As soon as Kurt turned back towards him, Sebastian turned on his heel started making his way back towards the audition room quickly, not looking back at him. Now it was Kurt's time to chase after him, trying to keep up with Sebastian's pace, meeting him by the door. Kurt could tell that he wanted to get it over with just as much as he did.

"Hey, guys. Good to see you again." Max said, not looking up from his phone for a moment. When he set it down, he gave them a big, toothy smile, his perfectly white, crooked teeth on display. It was a weird combination, and Kurt found himself wandering what kind of fucked up dentist he went to.

"Now, you're probably wondering why we called you back here," he said, and both the boys nodded. "Well, we have pretty much all of the girls we want to see during the last part, and all we need is the boys. We've almost narrowed it down, but we want to give you guys a few more scenes to read." he explained.

Kurt nodded excitedly, smiling at him. That must have meant that they were really considering him. Well, both of them, but he wasn't going to let the thought of the possibility of Sebastian being cast bring him down. Kurt was going to step up his game, and kick some ass no matter what happened.

"So, we're going to go through the rest of the scenes as promised, to humor the others, and then we'll let them go, and announce who all we want to see," he continued, as his assistant director grabbed two papers from the stack, holding them out for Kurt and Sebastian to take.

"First, we need you to do 'Nocturne' for us: the scene right after the party where CB kisses Beethoven in front of everyone. Then we'll figure out where to go from there," The boys took the scenes, and nodded in response. "Start when you're ready." Max said, still smiling at them.

Kurt and Sebastian stepped away from the table, reading over the scene, which was much shorter than the others. But it carried so much with it, with Beethoven feeling used, and feeling like he could never go back to school, being so afraid of what was about to come his way. And if he knew Sebastian at all other than the fact that all he did was find random hookups and try to ruin other people's relationships, he would say that he was just like CB in that moment. So clueless, so stupid, and always letting passion and lust take over in the end.

After a few minutes of silence, Sebastian looked over at Kurt for consent to start the scene. He gave him a nod, then looked over at the director to silently let him know that they were starting. This time, they just stood where they were, instead of entering anywhere.

The moment Sebastian opened his mouth to say his line, everything went downhill. For some reason, Sebastian suddenly lost all of his acting ability. Kurt did everything he could to play off of him, or get any kind of reaction other than indifferent, but it didn't work. They muddled through it, and when it was time for Kurt to kiss him at the end, Sebastian didn't kiss back. He pulled back quickly, as the director stared at them, looking disappointed.

"Uh, good job guys. We'll let you do the rest of your scenes, and then we'll let you know." he said, managing a small smile. Kurt gave him a nod, trying not to scream as he handed his script back to the assistant director, feeling utterly humiliated. As soon as they got out of the audition room, and far enough away from everyone else, though… he snapped.

"What the fuck was that?!" he shot at him, not noticing when a few people around them looked in their direction. Sebastian just shrugged, either not noticing people's eyes on them, or not caring. Obviously he just didn't give a fuck about anything at this point, or he would have actually put some effort into the scene.

"Do you even  _want_  to be in this show? Are you serious about this?" he asked, getting another shrug in response. Kurt let out a huff of annoyance, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"I just… I don't understand! How can you just… not do anything?" he asked, clenching his fists, fuming. They had come so far, and done so well. The director even said that they were considering them for the parts, so how could Sebastian not even try to impress him even more?

"I wasn't feeling it." Sebastian replied simply, crossing his arms over his chest. Kurt looked at him, giving him his best "what-the-fuck" face.

"You… you…" he choked out, using every ounce of strength in him not to strangle him, wishing this had happened before so he could channel the anger he had for him in this moment in the scene. "You could have pretended!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "You can act, Sebastian! You could have pretended for like, five minutes, that you didn't hate me, or whatever the fuck that was!" he yelled, many eyes on him now. Suddenly, Rachel was by his side, taking his arm.

"Kurt, _please_ ," she pleaded quietly. "People are staring." she said, even though it wasn't even her problem. People weren't staring at her, or judging her. Her scene partner didn't make her look like an idiot in front of the director, putting her chance of getting in the show in jeopardy. Kurt ignored her, focusing on making Sebastian feel bad for what he did. But apparently, he never showed any shame.

"You made me look like an idiot!" Kurt yelled, and for a split second, he could see regret flash over Sebastian's face. But he blinked, and it was gone. Again, he looked indifferent… bored, even. Suddenly, Rachel was tugging at his arm, and he let out a defeated sigh as he let her drag him away.

Rachel moved them over to a table far away from everyone else, and sat him down. She told him something before walking off, but he wasn't listening. He just blocked out all the noise around him as he tried to calm down, telling himself that everything would be okay, not really convincing himself. When she returned, she had a bottle of water, and two pills. Without question, Kurt took them, downing them easily. He took large sips of water to soothe his scratchy throat, willing himself not to cry.

Usually, in this situation, Rachel would ask what was going on and ask hundreds of questions, when he really didn't feel like talking to anyone. But this time, she stayed silent. She had finally trained herself to stay quiet when was it was necessary, but the only times it was necessary was when he was going off about Blaine. If she was being quiet now, then he must have been angrier than he thought.

They stayed like that for however long, until Shannon came over to their table, offering him a sympathetic smile. It looked like she had given people that same smile hundreds of time, apologizing for her brother's behavior, and in that moment he felt kind of bad for her.

"Hey, Kurt," she said, her voice soft and soothing. "The director wants you to come in and do 'Mal Di Luna' now," Kurt wracked his brain for which scene it was, and who he was supposed to be doing it with. He remembered that it was Beethoven's last scene in the play, and arguably the most heartbreaking one and he really hoped he didn't have to do it with Sebastian.

"With who?" he asked, hoping it was people he could stand that weren't awful actors.

"Victor and… Sebastian." she said, bracing herself for him to throw a fit or something. But Kurt just sighed, and got up, attempting to give her a small smile.

"Alright." he murmured, following Shannon over to where Victor and Sebastian were already waiting, blatantly flirting with each other. Kurt walked up to them with his head held high, not letting anything bother him. He was just going to do the scene to the best of his ability, and ignore everything else.

"You ready, boys?" he asked, cocking his hip. The other two smirked at him, and nodded.

"Ladies first," Sebastian murmured, motioning for Kurt to go before him. He shook it off, and strode on into the room once again.

"Alright, guys. Take a script from Wendy here," he said, gesturing towards the assistant director as he got up. "And I'll tell you who you're going to read for when I get back. Just read over it for the time being," he said, standing up, adjusting his pants. They grabbed their sides from the woman, who gave Kurt an especially warm smile. "Duty calls." Max said with a chuckle as he walked out to go do his business.

Once he was out of the room, Kurt sat down on the piano bench and started scanning the page. Reading it over again brought back all of the emotions he had reading it the first time, and he forced himself not to cry. He glanced up at the others, who were leaning against the wall, reading their scripts, begging to whatever deity there could possibly ever be that Sebastian didn't play his CB. He didn't care if he played Matt, he would actually be good at playing the bully, especially now. He could easily feel anger towards him if he was playing the bully instead of the guy he was falling in love with.

After a few moments, the director was back, and sitting in his seat. He smiled at the trio, and looked down at his clipboard, that was all a mystery to the actors. They never knew what he was writing down, and they never would. They'd all have ideas of what was on there, depending on if they were cast or not, but no one knew if he decided to doodles all over the page, or wrote notes about their outfit and how it made them look. It was a never ending cycle of not knowing in the theatre world, he noticed.

"So, Victor, I'd like you to read for Matt, and Sebastian for CB," he said, looking back up at them with a smile. Not a big, toothy smile like before, but a more tired one. The two nodded, and turned the pages so that they were at the beginning of the scene, while Kurt suppressed a groan. He told himself to just suck it up, and get it over with. "Kurt, you know who you are." Max said, flashing him a wink and  _damn_ , a lot of people had been winking at him today.

Kurt got himself situated at the piano while he prompted them to start whenever they were ready. He started playing 'Heart and Soul' to start the scene, smiling to himself. Sebastian walked over to him, smiling.

"I brought you lunch," he said, miming opening a bag, pulling food out of it and putting it on the piano. Kurt stopped playing, and gave him a look of despair and frustration. Beethoven was clearly still upset at CB for kissing him in front of everyone at the party, but Kurt was upset for a ton of different reasons. "Hey," Sebastian said, trying to be optimistic, giving him a small smile. "We made it halfway through the day and I only got called a queer three times."

"That's because people are scared you'll beat them up." Kurt pointed out, rolling his eyes.

"Don't worry. I've already started spreading the word that if they mess with my  _boyfriend_ , I'll be kicking some ass." he said, his smile growing as he pressed a kiss to his hair. Kurt resisted the urge to smack him and tell him not to mess with his hair, but he had to stay in character.

"Your boyfriend?" Kurt asked, surprised. But it wasn't a good kind of surprised, like CB was expecting. Sebastian's smile fell a little as he sat down on the chair next to the piano.

"Well, I thought the other night sort of sealed the deal," he said, shrugging.

"Slow down, CB." he said, frowning.

"Why?" Sebastian asked, clearly clueless.

"Because I don't want a boyfriend." Kurt replied, saying it like he had told him that hundreds of times already, and that it should be common knowledge to the other boy.

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, still with his happy-go-lucky attitude.

"We shared a moment." Kurt said, mostly to remind himself. Sebastian let out a chuckle, rolling his eyes fondly.

"We shared more than that." he pointed out, as Kurt scrubbed a hand over his face.

"This can't happen." he said, a little bit louder than he should, motioning between them.

"What can't?" Sebastian asked, still stupidly clueless. Kurt never really thought that one could actually be blinded by love, but apparently, CB was.

"We can't just start a relationship," Kurt explained, pinching the skin on the bridge of his nose. "I mean, you've gotta be a little more realistic."

"Give people time, they'll get used to the idea." Sebastian said, with absolute certainty. Kurt shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.

"How can I expect 'people' to get used to the idea when I'm not used to the idea?!" he asked, but Sebastian didn't flinch. He hardly missed a beat as he gave him a big, goofy, adorable smile.

"I'm falling in love with you." Sebastian said, his voice quiet. Kurt felt his heart skip a beat for a moment, and his stomach swooped. He couldn't help but blush before he snapped right back to reality.

"This is retarded." he muttered, turning away from Sebastian, scrubbing a hand over his face again. Sebastian didn't seem all too disturbed or upset as he stood up, looking through his imaginary bag of food

"Do you like yogurt?" he asked all of a sudden, pulling out the imaginary carton. Kurt glanced at him, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"No." Kurt replied, still perturbed, but glad for a change in subject.

"Shit. Neither do I. I was hoping you'd want it," he said with a chuckle, then grabbed two imaginary sandwich bags, holding them up in front of him. "Ham or bologna?" he asked, showing him which one was which.

"CB, I really need to practice." was all Kurt said in response, turning back to the piano, his fingers hovering over the keys.

"You really need to eat." Sebastian said.

"I'm in the fucking 'Twilight Zone'." Kurt murmured to himself, like he couldn't believe this was really happening.

"Ham it is." Sebastian said, setting the invisible bologna sandwich down.

"CB! Just stop! Okay?" he yelled, starting to lose it. "This isn't what I want." Sebastian's eyes widened.

"What's the problem?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

" _This_  is the problem!" Kurt exclaimed, standing up, looking straight into Sebastian's eyes. He was tired, and fed up, and he knew that Beethoven was too. "I'm a little stressed out right now and I'm trying to calm my nerves by playing the piano," he explained desperately, pointing at the piano. "And… and you're turning into Donna Reed right before my eyes!"

"Who?" Sebastian asked, cocking his head to the side innocently.

"Nevermind," he muttered with a huff, biting his lip. "Look. The other night was… it was great, but let's just call it one of those things. You go back to being yourself and I'll even let you hit me now and then for old time's sake," he practically begged, slumping back down onto the bench. "This is just too weird." he murmured, running a hand through his hair without thinking. Sebastian let out a sigh, and after a moment, sat back down next to him. Kurt flinched a little, scooting away some, not looking at him.

"Remember the day when I asked if you were gay and you said you didn't know?" Sebastian asked, not even waiting for Kurt to answer. "You'd never been with a man before. Well… now you have," he said gently, putting a hand on his arm. "So, what the verdict?" Kurt let out a sigh, and shook his head, glancing over at him.

"I don't know. I'm trying not to think about the other night." he replied with a shrug, looking back down at the keyboard.

"I can't think about anything else." Sebastian said, dreamily. He licked his lips, before leaning in, pressing kisses to his neck. Kurt bit his lip and almost immediately pulled away, getting up off of the bench, wrapping his arms around himself. He looked over at Sebastian, and could see the disappointment on his face, and it made him feel really bad, even know he knew that he hadn't actually done anything to hurt him. An awkward silence came over them as Sebastian kept looking at Kurt, and Kurt looked away.

"Fine," Sebastian said, breaking the silence. "I'll leave you alone." He got up, putting the invisible lunch back into the sack.

"Thank you." Kurt murmured gratefully, giving him a nod.

"But… eat something," Sebastian said, giving him a small smile. "You're too skinny." he added with a chuckle.

"Fine," Kurt murmured, as Sebastian pretended to grab his backpack and sling it over to his shoulders, starting to exit. "Give me time," he said, watching as Sebastian smiled softly and nodded before walking off. When the coast was clear, Kurt allowed himself to smile, sitting back down at the piano. "Oh my God." he whispered, unable to wipe a grin from his face as he started to play.

It wasn't long before Victor came strolling in, pretending to be Matt. The second half of the scene, wasn't very good. Victor wasn't very intimidating, and Kurt learned that he really did have to play off of Matt more than CB, and he really wished there was more to work with. Once the scene was over, the director was still scribbling notes down on his mysterious clipboard. He looked up after a few moments, smiling at them.

"Great job, guys. Now, can we do it again, and have Victor play CB, and Sebastian play Matt?" he asked, and of course, no one objected. Kurt wasn't quite sure what to expect this time around, since he had never seen Sebastian play Matt. But he held on to a hope that he could do it, so that he could have something to play off of, and so maybe he could get the part and not play CB.

So, they started the scene over again, and again, Kurt was able to compare Victor's performance to Sebastian's. And again, it wasn't as good, and the kisses to his neck were much wetter. The more that part of the scene progressed, he was actually looking forward to what was about to happen next, even though it was crazily heart wrenching. Victor finally exited, and Kurt tried to contain his excitement as he started to play 'Heart and Soul' again, grinning like mad. That is, until Matt came in. Kurt continued to play, humming along to it as Sebastian stood and watched him.

"Hey there, Liberace." Sebastian sneered, pulling Kurt out of his trance. He jumped a little when he heard the voice, and stopped playing. He turned around towards him, as he walked closer.

"You're n-not supposed to be in here." Kurt stammered, terrified. He figured that since CB and Matt were basically inseparable, he had been one of Beethoven's main bullies, and probably the worst.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked condescendingly as he walked even closer towards him.

"He… he's not my boyfriend," he said defensively, shaking his head. "I didn't have anything to do with what happened last night." Kurt added, almost pleadingly.

"You sort of did, actually." Sebastian said, putting his hands on the piano, leaning closer to him. Kurt flinched, biting his lip as he looked away.

"Just… just leave me alone, okay? I didn't do anything." Kurt assured, looking down at the keys, swallowing thickly. Sebastian just smirked, leaning in closer, making Kurt very uncomfortable, and frankly, kind of scared.

"Play something." Sebastian commanded, but Kurt did nothing. He was frozen in place, unable to do anything. He figured that if he ignored him, he'd go away. Instead, Sebastian grabbed his hands, and smashed them down on the keyboard, making a loud, dissonant noise. Kurt let out a shaky sigh, moving his fingers to the right keys to start playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata', which he knew by heart. Kurt played a few measures, before Sebastian started talking again, looking off into space, only occasionally looking down at his script.

"So, are you two, like, a couple now?" he asked, chuckling just slightly. Kurt didn't answer, just looking down at the keys, praying that he would just go away. "Are you going to parade around the halls holding hands? Go to prom together?" Sebastian asked, chuckling again, his face quickly falling. Soon, he was leaning even closer, waiting a few beats to ask the question that was really on his mind.

"Did you have sex with him?" Sebastian asked, his voice quiet. This prompted Kurt to stop playing, swallowing the lump that was starting to form in his throat, feeling tears threatening to spill. He glanced up at Sebastian, seeing him trying to hold back his own tears, or anger at least. "Keep playing." he muttered, but Kurt did nothing.

Sebastian then reached out, and put a hand on his shoulder, putting his script on the piano. It wasn't a comforting hand, it was threatening. It kneaded into his skin, and Kurt tensed as he moved his other hand to the other shoulder, squeezing them. Kurt started playing again, hunching forward, trying to get as far away from Sebastian as possible. But Sebastian just moved in closer, his breath hot in Kurt's ear as he looked past him at the script that Kurt had propped up on the music stand.

"Can't you people just keep it hidden?" he asked, his voice catching. "Instead of throwing it in our faces?" he asked. It was in that moment that Beethoven realized Matt's secret, the reason he was doing all of this: he was in love with CB. He tried to look back at Sebastian, but he just nudged him forward, back towards the piano. Sebastian then grabbed Kurt's hair, and used it to pull his head up, making him stop playing. He let out a little whine, as Sebastian leaned close, pressing his face against Kurt's.

"CB is not like you. And if you so much as look at him again," he said, pausing for dramatic effect as he let out a malicious chuckle. "I'll kill you." he whispered, tugging at his hair harder. "You got that, perv?" he asked, then shoved his head. Kurt sniffled, breathing heavily as Sebastian was starting to leave.

"No." Kurt choked out, his vision blurry with unshed tears. Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" he asked, then turned back to him, sauntering back over to the piano. "What did you just say?" Kurt was still breathing heavily, genuinely terrified for the next part. He remembered all the times that he had stood up to his old bullies in high school, and how he had been caused tremendous pain and suffering afterwards.

"I said no… Pigpen." Kurt muttered, almost not saying it because he really didn't want what was about to happen to actually happen. But, as soon as Matt's old childhood nickname was brought up, he snapped. The director had cut them off there last time, but this time, he was watching with anticipation, and Sebastian kept going. He covered Kurt's mouth forcefully, and he finally felt the tears fall when Sebastian pretended to smash his hands with the keyboard cover, instead opting to slapping them down against the piano.

Kurt let out a few cries, muffled by Sebastian's hand as he did it, feeling his heart clench painfully in his chest, memories of being slammed against lockers, thrown into dumpsters, being beaten into a bloody pulp in a dark ally, scars, blood, bruises, and hospital visits flashing across his mind. It was extremely hard to handle just that, but he couldn't imagine never being able to do what he loved again because of something like that. Eventually, Sebastian stopped, and ran off, leaving Kurt to sit and sob over his "broken" hands, which would never play piano again.

The room was silent for a good minute after that, except for the sound of Kurt's sniffles and choked sobs as he cradled his hands. Everyone in the room seemed to be staring at him, and he felt so overwhelmed, and it felt like he couldn't breathe and that everything was crashing down around him and next thing he knew he was running out of the room. Then his head was in the toilet as he puked, and cried, and the snot mixed with the tears and the puke and he was just exhausted.

Kurt was trying to catch his breath when he heard the door open. He tried to lift his head to see who it was, but when he did, it immediately fell back against the porcelain, feeling heavy. Soon, a figure was kneeling down beside him, rubbing his back.

He let his eyes slip closed as the person held him against their chest, flushing the toilet before rocking him back and forth. Kurt started crying again, and the person shushed him. It wasn't long before he started to fall asleep to the sound of someone humming "Heart and Soul."


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): Sebastian Smythe tears  
> A/N: Hey guys! Finally decided to add another chapter to this. You're welcome. As always, I do not own Dog Sees God or Glee or any of that. All credits go to Bert V. Royal and Ryan Murphy. Happy Reading!

Kurt woke up feeling like an alcohol-soaked piece of dog shit.

It was strange, because he hadn’t consumed any alcohol recently, yet his head still pounded as he opened his eyes, and even the dim fluorescent light had caused him to groan, and immediately close his eyes. He could feel the dull burn from all of the tears he shed in his eyes, and he really didn’t want to open them again, or get up.

But someone tugged at his sleeve, and poked him in his side, and was saying his name so he knew that he had to get up. He reluctantly opened his eyes, and sat up, a little bit too quickly because his head started reeling, and he kind of felt like puking again. As if the taste in his mouth wasn’t pleasant enough already, why not do it again?

“Sleeping Beauty has arisen,” Rachel said, her voice soft and soothing, which he rarely never heard from her. He hummed, and then coughed, feeling his throat start to burn now. The girl frowned, and grabbed a water bottle from the table behind her, and suddenly he was very aware of his surroundings.

He was in some kind of office, or employee lounge or something. He had been laying on a cheap loveseat that looked like someone had put his grandma’s curtain over it and decided to call it a couch cover. Around the room were several printed notes labeling where everything was, and warning everyone not to use the sink, or steal their food from the fridge.

“Want some water?” Rachel asked, already handing him the water bottle. He eagerly took it, and nursed it like it was mother’s milk, drinking almost all of it in hopes to soothe his throat, glad that no one was around to see him. He probably looked horrid.

“Did I miss the final scene? What time is it?” he asked, suddenly panicking.

“No, you’re fine. They’re still seeing a few more people, and the stage manager said to wake you up so you would be awake and ready when they announce the people for the last scene.” she replied, calming his nerves with a soft smile. Kurt let out a sigh of relief and gave her a nod as he rubbed his eyes.

“How long have I been out?” he asked.

“About an hour, I think,” Rachel replied with a shrug. “Do you… feel any better?” she asked, choosing those simple little worlds very carefully. Basically, she was asking if he was going to throw up on her any time soon so she could take cover, and he didn’t blame her.

“Yeah, I guess. My head hurts like hell, though. Do you have some Advil in your purse I can take?” Kurt asked, and Rachel immediately grabbed it, and handed him a pill.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

It wasn’t long before an awkward silence lingered between them; unanswered questions and concerns in the air. He could tell Rachel really had a lot to ask him, especially after the last time, but she kept it in, much to his surprise.

After a few more minutes of the almost-blissful silence, Rachel finally spoke up.

“We should probably get out there,” she said, not making a move to get up, instead glancing out of the small window behind her that looked out into the lobby where everyone was anxiously waiting.

“Yeah,” Kurt muttered, before standing up slowly. He made his way to the door, throwing his water bottle away, before turning back around to her. “Oh, God. I need gum.” he said, a little more urgent about it than he should have been.

Before he could blink, Rachel had dug into her purse, and was holding out several packages of gum. Ever since he had met her, she had always been in stock with various flavors of gum for anyone that needed it. He never needed to carry it around when he was around her, she just knew what he liked and always had it for him. Kurt grabbed one of the mint ones, knowing it would cover up the vomit-y stench more than the fruity ones.

He gave her a grateful smile as he popped it in his mouth, and tossed the wrapper in the trash before making his way out into the lobby. Nobody seemed to notice them coming out as Shannon came out of the audition room, and stood on top of her chair again with her clipboard. This time, she didn’t have to shut anybody up.

She smiled at Kurt as he passed by her, and moved to stand with the crowd. It wasn’t a sympathetic smile, like he expected. It was more of a ‘I-know-something-you-don’t’ kind of smile, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing quite yet.

“Alright, guys. Listen up! The director has made a list of the sixteen he wants to see for the last scene, and is making the first groups he wants to see now. So, if I call your name, you stay. Everyone else can go home,” she announced, smirking as she saw a few people cringe as she turned back to her clipboard.

Kurt swallowed nervously, grabbing Rachel’s hand, letting her squeeze it as they waited for their fate, and see if the last few hours were really worth it.

He recognized a few names he heard, like the Forever 21 girl, and Shaggy, and even Victor, which he didn’t really expect at all. He wondered who he’d read for. Rachel’s name was called at the beginning of the list – she was barely able to contain her squeals - and his in the middle. He was able to maintain some composure for the time being, but he knew that he would freak out about it sooner or later.

It didn’t surprise him to hear Sebastian’s name tacked on to the bottom of the list, but he still wasn’t very happy about it. He just hadn’t been very happy with Sebastian at all that day, to be honest. Kurt hoped that if they both got cast, he would at least put in the effort to be somewhat bearable to be around. He’d only have to see him for a few hours every day for a month, and he figured that he could probably handle that. He had put up with so much more in the past. He realized that wouldn’t have to see him outside of rehearsal, except maybe at the cast party. The thought relieved him for the moment, until he glanced at Sebastian who flashed him a playful wink.

Once Shannon was done reading the list, the whole room was abuzz with both excitement, and disappointment from the people who didn’t make it, and the few hopefuls that stayed even though they had been told to leave. It wasn’t long before those few people started shuffling out of the theater, and soon enough, there were only sixteen of them left. They were all looking over each other, scoping out the competition. Kurt heard Shannon laugh, and glanced over at her.

She and Sebastian were giggling with each other, muttering “theatre people” and rolling their eyes. Kurt couldn’t help but roll his eyes at them, because why were they here if they weren’t theatre people? Was this all just a big joke to them? He shook the thoughts out of his head, forcing himself not to get angry over anything else tonight. He would act emotionless, like in the scene they were about to do.

After a while, Shannon finally spoke up again, clearly glad that she didn’t have to yell over them.

“Alright, guys. So, this is how this is going to work. Max is going to make a list of people he wants to see first, and we’ll go from there. I have no idea how many groups there’s going to be, or how long this is going to take, so don’t ask,” she said with a chuckle. “He should be out in a minute to talk to you guys.”

Everyone collectively nodded, and turned back to glare at each other, and converse in awkward small talk until the director arrived. Kurt was glad he had at least someone there that he knew and could talk to. He turned to Rachel and started to talk to her, but as usual, she cut him off, and started going off on how she absolutely knew she was going to be cast as Tricia, or the infamous Peppermint Patty, and how her and the director had this sort of special connection. All Kurt did was smile and nod as usual, catching glimpses of Sebastian and Victor out of the corner of his eye.

The group didn’t have to wait too long before Max came out with a huge grin on his face. Everyone turned towards him without hesitating, dropping all conversation to pay attention. Kurt saw Shannon roll her eyes, but still smiled.

“It’s like you have some kind of magic power. I have to stand on a chair and yell to get them to pay attention to me.” Shannon told him, making everyone laugh.

“Well, of course. I’m the director. I’m the one casting and signing paychecks,” Max said with a chuckle. “Alright, let’s get started,” he murmured, looking down at his all-mighty clipboard, before announcing names and roles. Kurt was Beethoven, Sebastian was CB, and Rachel was Tricia. He didn’t know who anyone else was. “Now, come with me. I have all of the sides for you.”

Kurt went in to do the scene four different times as Beethoven. He had been with a bunch of different people, and was only with Sebastian for CB once. He hoped it was a sign that if he got Beethoven, Sebastian would not be his CB. He would be fine with anyone else, except for him.

Max called him into another group, and by now, it was already after midnight, so everyone was exhausted and, as he could tell, emotionally drained. He sure was. Kurt wondered if that was a strategy of his, to get them exhausted so they could easily do the scene without emotions. If it was, it was a brilliant one in his opinion.

Little did they know, but when they entered the room, they were the cast of _Dog Sees God_. They had no idea what to expect, since they hadn’t all been in the room with each other before. The assistant director gave them a tired smile and handed all of the sides to them. Max sat down in his chair after closing the door behind them, letting them read it over for a moment before setting the scene.

“Alright, I know you’ve all heard this spiel before, but I’m going to say it again, because we’re all tired, and we tend to forget,” he said, earning a few weary chuckles. “Okay, so in this scene, CB has just gotten a letter from his all-mysterious pen pal. He’s been writing a letter about his whole experience with Beethoven throughout the play, and finally they have written back after Beethoven’s death. So CB is very emotional, and angry at himself, and at the world. That’s what I want Sebastian here to do.” he said, motioning over towards him.

“Everyone else, don’t do anything. Don’t show anything. You’re just reading the letter, so the audience can hear. You’re not there. It’s just CB, the letter, and his own personal raincloud. So don’t look at him. Stare out at the audience and be completely detached. Okay?” he explained, while everyone nodded. This time, Max didn’t tell them to start when they were ready. Instead, he stood up and moved everyone around to different parts of the room.

Sebastian sat on a chair in the middle of the room, and the piano sat to the left of him. Kurt was offstage for now, the only one who would actually come on stage to say his part of the letter. Everyone else was scattered around Sebastian, standing still. After Max arranged everyone how he wanted, he sat back down and instructed them to begin. Everyone looked at each other, and gave each other permission to speak at the same time.

“Dear CB,” they all said in unison.

“How unexpected to get a letter from you after all these years,” said a mousey blonde, who was playing CB’s Sister.

“I thought you had forgotten about me.” said a tall, thin girl with the most naturally beautiful hair Kurt had ever seen. She was playing Van’s Sister, the pyromaniac, and she just stared off into the distance, her face blank.

“It sounds like you’re going through a pretty rough time and having to deal with situations you feel you can’t handle –“ Shaggy, obviously playing Van, said before the tall, gorgeous blonde playing Tricia cut him off.

“But if anyone is equipped to deal with these things, it’s you.”

“I promise it gets better.” Shaggy said, offering him a sad smile without thinking. Kurt watched the scene carefully, glancing down at his script every once in a while, even though he had memorized the scene.

“Hang in there.” the tall blonde said.

“Be strong.” Shaggy and the blonde said in unison.

“I’m so sorry for your loss.” Victor, who was playing Matt, much to his surprise, said.

“I was talking to a girl the other day who told me of an incident that happened at her school.” the Forever 21 girl said.

“There was a boy,” everyone said in unison.

“Bullied,” one person said.

“Tormented,” two people said in perfect, practiced unison.

“To the point of opening fire on their cafeteria,” Victor said, and Kurt saw him swallow thickly before he continued. “He was quiet and awkward. No one ever spoke to him unless it was to insult him. He took the lives of many people. The girl told me that n-no one ever extended a hand in friendship to this poor child.”

“She hadn’t.” everyone said. Kurt watched as Sebastian looked down as if he were reading the letter, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he tried to hold back tears.

“She said how she wished that she hadn’t turned a blind eye to what he was going through.”

“She thinks to herself, how differently things could have been through one connection,” the Forever 21 girl who was playing Marcy said, her voice almost a whisper. “No matter how great or small.”

“She lives where I live now,” Van’s Sister piped up, glancing back at CB for a split second. Kurt could tell now how hard it was to act emotionless during such an emotional scene.

“A place where there is no violence. Everyone treats each other with kindness, love and respect. If you can imagine such a place, I challenge you to do so. Think on it.”

“As for the question you are asking about yourself and others: don’t concern yourself with death,” Shaggy said, pausing for a moment for dramatic effect. “Immerse yourself in life. Enjoy every moment that you’re allowed to but keep asking questions. My dear friend, don’t ever stop asking questions.”

“Also, bear no malice for the ones who leave you.” Marcy added.

“The only regret they feel now is the regret of not being able to tell you how they really feel.” At this, Kurt heard Sebastian sniffle, wiping his eyes quickly.

“They wish that they could say g-goodbye to the ones they left behind.” Van’s Sister stammered out, her voice catching.

“But sometimes that’s not possible.”

“Even in perfect happiness –“

“Even in nirvana –“

“They will always have this regret.” the three girls, except for CB’s Sister said together.

“A boy recently came to live down the street from me,” the mousy blonde started, “He’s had a tough life, but things are better for him now. He plays the piano… like your friend. I often hear his music wafting from an open window, where a small yellow bird sits. Sometimes I cry when I hear it. But mostly I smile.” she finished, a small, hardly noticeable sad smile on her lips.

Kurt entered and joined the group, standing where he was close to CB, but away from everyone else.

“He found a dog who likes to sing along. He takes good care of the dog. When we talk, he tells me of a person he knew from where he used to live,” Kurt said, carefully putting a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, not looking at him. Sebastian flinched a little at this, still trying to hold back tears.

“Someone very special who means more than anything to him. A person who reminds me of you.” Kurt moved to sit on the piano, setting his script down on his lap, still looking into the distance.

“I… I apologize for not being there for you before,” Sebastian started, speaking for the first and last time in the scene. “And I’m not sure that I’ll be able to write you again. Just know that there’s… there’s someone out there thinking about you. Someone who has vested interest in your success,” Now is where Kurt could see the tears fall out of the corner of his eyes.

“How I wish I had the opportunity to meet you.” he paused, his breathing heavy. “Maintain in your heart all that makes you who you are… You are a good man.” he paused again, wiping his eyes. “Your Pen Pal… CS.”

Then, Sebastian just sat in silence for a minute, awed at the letter, before he buried his face in his hands, letting out a broken sob as the script fell to the floor.

They stayed in silence like that for a few moments. A few people looked at the director, and some looked at Sebastian to see if he’s alright. Sebastian continues to cry for a few moments, the director’s eyes darting from him, to all of the other cast members. After a while, he smiled, which kind of surprised everyone since his face was so hard during the scene.

“Good job, guys. I’ll let you guys get back out there, and I’ll see if I need to see anyone else.” he announced before going to open the door. Sebastian looked up, his eyes and nose red, but looking normal other than that. He was the first to get up and stroll out of the room, schooling his face to make it seem like he hadn’t been affected at all.

Kurt followed after everyone else, not really sure how to react to that at all. It was good, but it was so odd to see Sebastian actually crying. He didn’t do that the first time, and up until now, he was convinced that Sebastian couldn’t actually cry. But the way he strolled out without a care, he was starting to wonder if it was all an act. If so, it was pretty impressive. Kurt didn’t hesitate to find Rachel and tell her what happened.

“He can actually cry?” she asked once he told her, shocked. Kurt laughed and nodded.

“Right? That’s exactly what I was thinking. But it seriously happened.” he replied, when Sebastian decided to join in on their conversation.

“Talking about me, eh?” Sebastian asked, making Kurt roll his eyes. “I don’t blame you. My attractiveness seems to be a popular topic of conversation around here.” Rachel shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That’s the opposite of what we were talking about, _Sebastian_ ,” she said, practically hissing his name, giving him one of her not-very impressive glares. Sebastian just laughed, looking back over at Kurt.

“Aw, c’mon now. You don’t have to deny it. I know you want this,” he told him, motioning towards himself, doing a few body rolls that were supposed to sexy, but were just annoying. “You can’t keep yourself off of me.”

Kurt just scoffed and looked away, hoping that if he ignored him, he’d go away and bother someone else. He finally did, claiming that he was bored before going to mess around with Victor, which Kurt couldn’t care less about. It wasn’t long after Sebastian went off to be with Victor that Shannon was calling in another group that consisted of the other half of the people that hadn’t been with them before. Rachel excitedly bounced off, and Kurt decided to sit in the corner, more than ready to leave and go to bed.

He had been drifting off, but had been woken up by a too-chipper Rachel pulling him up out of his seat. Kurt was too tired to protest, and followed her to where the clump of people stood, all looking anxiously at Max. Once he spotted Kurt, he started talking.

“Great work tonight, guys. I really appreciate that you guys took the time to come out here and audition. I will be posting the cast list outside tomorrow morning, 9 am sharp. Congrats in advance to those of you who are cast,” he said, throwing them a tired smile. “Now, get some sleep.” he added, before heading off to the audition room without another word, leaving Shannon to usher people out.

“It was really nice to meet you, Kurt,” Shannon had said as everyone else was leaving and Kurt was waiting for Rachel to finish in the bathroom.

“It was nice to meet you, too,” Kurt replied, a little surprised at her unnecessary kindness. He decided that he had been in New York too long. She gave him a small smile, her dirty blonde hair now framing her face. She looked around, and leaned closer to him, her voice almost a whisper.

“I’m sorry you had to put up with my booger of a brother,” she said, looking sincerely apologetic. “He can be somewhat of a pain in the ass sometimes. Believe me.” she added, and as if on cue, Sebastian walked up behind her.

“I distinctly remember a promise of curly fries once we got out of here,” he said, making his sister roll her eyes.

“Okay, okay. We’re going,” she said, exasperated. Sebastian looked triumphant as he practically skipped out of the theater, not casting Kurt a sparing glance. “See you later, Kurt.”

Kurt gave her a wave as she followed her brother out, and turned to see Rachel coming out of the bathroom. She immediately looped their arms together and led them out onto the streets of the city that never sleeps.

They decided to stop by the seedy convenient store around the block to grab some snacks for a makeshift dinner before heading back to their apartment. They ate in companionable silence before heading to bed, both excited and nervous to see the cast list in only a few hours.

Kurt woke up to the sound of his phone making noise. He let out a groan, reaching for it to try to press the snooze button, but he realized it was a text from an unfamiliar number.

From **(212)676-4562**  (6:09 am): _18 W 29th S. @ 8 Y/N?_

To **(212)676-4562** (6:12 am): _Who are you and why are you texting me the address of a coffee shop?_

From **(212)676-4562**  (6:13 am): _Because I want to have coffee with you._

To **(212)676-4562** (6:14 am): _Again, who is this?_

From **(212)676-4562**  (6:17 am): _Your worst nightmare, and star of all of your wet dreams. ;)_

To **(212)676-4562** (6:18 am): _Hello, Sebastian._

From **(212)676-4562**  (6:24 am): _Yes or no?_

To **(212)676-4562** (6:25 am): _Depends. Are you paying?_

From **(212)676-4562**  (6:25 am): _Sure._

To **(212)676-4562** (6:26 am): _Can I go back to bed?_

From **(212)676-4562** (6:26 am): _Yes._

To **(212)676-4562** (6:26 am): _Then, yes._

From **(212)676-4562** (6:28 am): _Great._ _See you at 8._

From **(212)676-4562** (6:28 am): _Sweet dreams._


End file.
